Heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

A heat exchanger comprising a plurality of oval tubes each having side walls and opposite edges or ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each side wall and with each tube end having a transverse recess extending inwardly of the end between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of the tube and an outer edge of the tube and a tube header at each end of the heat exchanger having openings embracing the tubes in the areas between the recesses at each end of the heat exchanger and anchored in the recesses. The disclosure also includes a heat exchanger in which the tank is provided at each end of the heat exchanger enclosing the tube ends at the respective ends and having an edge portion anchored in the recesses.

United States Patent [191 Mosier Nov. 18, 1975 [73] Assignee: Modine Manufacturing Company,

Racine, Wis.

[22] Filed: Mar. 28, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 455,542

[52] US. Cl 165/150; 29/137.3 R; 165/152; 165/175 [51] Int. Cl. F28F 9/02 [58] Field of Search 165/150, 152, 173, 175; 29/1373 R, 137.3 B; 403/267, 346

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,890,185 12/1932 Lucke 165/175 2,028,457 I 1/1936 Karmazin 165/150 2,275,943 3/1942 Bayley 403/267 2,656,155 10/1953 Garratt 29/1573 R 3,708,012 l/1973 Zimprich.... 29/157.3 R 3,820,215 6/1974 Pasternak 29/1573 B Primary Exantz'nerAlb ert W. Davis, Jr.

Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. OConnor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wegner, Stellman, McCord, Wiles & Wood [57] ABSTRACT A heat exchanger comprising a plurality of oval tubes each having side walls and opposite edges or ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each side wall and with each tube end having a transverse recess ex- 7 tending inwardly of the end between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of the tube and an outer edge of the tube and a tube header at each end of the heat exchanger having openings embracing the tubes in the areas between the recesses at each end of the heat exchanger and anchored in the recesses. The disclosure also includes a heat exchanger in which the tank is provided at each end of the heat exchanger enclosing the tube ends at the respective ends and having an edge portion anchored in the recesses.

11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 l VI/I'll I HEAT iExcnANoER, BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION BRIEF'DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an end of a tube of the heat exchanger. I

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line '33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal view through an end of a tube and associated structure showing one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a'second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a third embodiment in which two heat exchangers are attached in end-to-end relation through their adjacent headers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiments illustrated in the drawings the heat exchanger heat exchanger 10 comprises a plurality of parallel oval and with the heat transfer between the two fluids being aided by the heat exchange fins 14 all as well known and well understood in this art.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 each oval tube 11 is provided with customary internal heat transfer'fins and ends 16 each of which is considerably thicker than the adjacent side walls 17 of the tube. Each tube end has a transverse recess 18 here shown as a square cornered groove with parallel sides and a flat bottom 19 with the recess of groove extending between the sides 20 and .located between the interior 21 of the tube and the.

outer edge surface 22 of the tube.

. There is also provided a tube header23 in the form of a plate at each end of the heat exchanger embracing the tubes in the areas between the recesses at each end of the heat exchanger as shown in detail in FIG. 4. Each header 23 has an opening 24 receiving a tube 11 and v with this opening defined by a flange 25 located in each groove 18 and embracing the respective tube. In the structure illustrated in FIG. 4 the flange 25 has a right angled inner end 26 comprising an edge that is positioned against and snugly embracing the tubes 11.

In assembling the heat exchanger 20 the tank 12 or 13 can be attached to the projected end of the header 24. If desired the tank as illustrated at 112 in FIG. 5 can have an edge located within the grooves 18. This can be accomplished by having a foot 27 on the end of the tank 112 and located in the groove 18 against the header 123 also located in the groove 18. Then in order the groove 18 may be staked over to bind the tubes,

header and tank in assembled relationship for bonding as indicated in all embodiments at 29. This bonding may be by conventional bonding methods such as brazing, soldering, adhering and so forth.

The heat exchanger of this invention lends itself readily to the inexpensive production of banks of heat exchangers consisting of two or more arranged L in aligned relationship and joined at their headers 23 as by the weld 30 in FIG. 6.

The thick edges 16 of the tubes, the grooves 18 and the headers or headers and tanks located therein pro- .vide a very strong structure which transmits all stress from the internal pressure in the heat exchanger as a straight tensile load and eliminates the additional bending loads encountered in conventional oval tube heat exchangers where the entire tube end of the heat exchanger is inside the header. This substantially complete elimination of bending loads permits the use of thin gauge header material which not only reduces the cost but also permits the use of flanged header slots rather than the normal straight slots associated with higher pressure heat exchangers. The flanged slots of this invention which receive the tubes as illustrated in 'FIG. 4 result in a higher degree of bonding and more secure bonding with resulting reduction ofleaks. The flanged slots also makethe assembly of the heat exchanger more simple and lowers the tolerance requirements of the tubes.

This heat exchanger construction results in a compact unit for any given heat exchange capacity as the tank, header or both are located within the boundaries of the tube outer edge surfaces 22 and are therefore completely within the space occupied by the heat exchanger core 31.

As stated earlier, this construction also lends itself to locking the parts together as illustrated in FIG. 5 prior to permanent bonding thereby eliminating the need for jigs such as clamps, wires, bands and the like to provide contact between the assembled parts during bonding. This controlled shape and positive locking of the parts also provides close control of header to header dimensions of the heat exchanger. Furthermore, the locking of the header as illustrated at 23 and 123 in the heavy edge sections 16 of the tubes permits the edge sections to be utilized for special purposes such as impact protection', decorative effects and the like without changing the internal construction of the heat exchangeror affecting the heat transfer performance characteristics.

Having described myinvention as related to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the appended claims.

I claim:

' 1. A heat exchanger, comprising: an oval tube having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a recess located between the sides thereof in the space between the interior of the tube andthe outer edge surface of the tube; a tube header having an opening embracing said tube in the area between said recesses; and means anchoring said header in said recesses.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein each said recess comprises groove means having a substantially 3 flat bottom.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 2 wherein each said header has an opening receiving said tube and defined by a flange located in said groove means and embracing said tube.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 3 wherein said flange has a right angled edge positioned against said tube.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein there are provided an adjacent aligned pair of said heat exchangers with the adjacent headers including aligned flanges joined to each other to provide a bank of said heat exchangers.

6. A heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of oval tubes, each tube of said plurality having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a transverse recess extending between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of said tube and the outer edge surface of said tube; a header having openings enclosing said tube ends, each header opening being defined by an edge portion located in a said recess; and means anchoring said edge portions of said header in said recesses.

7. The heat exchanger of claim 6 wherein each said recess comprises groove means having a substantially flat bottom.

8. A heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of oval tubes, each tube of said plurality having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a transverse recess extending between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of the tube and the outer edge surface of the tube; a tube header at each end of the heat exchanger having openings embracing said tubes 11 in the areas between said recesses at each said end of the heat exchanger and located in said recesses; means anchoring said edge portions of said header in said recesses; a tank at each end of the heat exchanger enclosing the tube ends at said end and having a tank edge portion also located in each of said recesses; and means anchoring said tank edge portions in said recesses.

9. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein each said header has an opening receiving a said tube and defined by a flange located in said groove and embracing said tube.

10. Theheat exchanger of claim 9 wherein said flange has a right angled inner end comprising an edge positioned against said tube.

11. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein there are provided an adjacent aligned pair of said heat exchangers with the adjacent headers including aligned flanges joined to each other to provide a bank of said heat exchangers. 

1. A heat exchanger, comprising: an oval tube having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a recess located between the sides thereof in the space between the interior of the tube and the outer edge surface of the tube; a tube header having an opening embracing said tube in the area between said recesses; and means anchoring said header in said recesses.
 2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein each said recess comprises groove means having a substantially flat bottom.
 3. The heat exchanger Of claim 2 wherein each said header has an opening receiving said tube and defined by a flange located in said groove means and embracing said tube.
 4. The heat exchanger of claim 3 wherein said flange has a right angled edge positioned against said tube.
 5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 wherein there are provided an adjacent aligned pair of said heat exchangers with the adjacent headers including aligned flanges joined to each other to provide a bank of said heat exchangers.
 6. A heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of oval tubes, each tube of said plurality having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a transverse recess extending between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of said tube and the outer edge surface of said tube; a header having openings enclosing said tube ends, each header opening being defined by an edge portion located in a said recess; and means anchoring said edge portions of said header in said recesses.
 7. The heat exchanger of claim 6 wherein each said recess comprises groove means having a substantially flat bottom.
 8. A heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of oval tubes, each tube of said plurality having side walls and opposite ends that are thick relative to the thickness of each said side wall, each said end having a transverse recess extending between the sides thereof and located in the space between the interior of the tube and the outer edge surface of the tube; a tube header at each end of the heat exchanger having openings embracing said tubes 11 in the areas between said recesses at each said end of the heat exchanger and located in said recesses; means anchoring said edge portions of said header in said recesses; a tank at each end of the heat exchanger enclosing the tube ends at said end and having a tank edge portion also located in each of said recesses; and means anchoring said tank edge portions in said recesses.
 9. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein each said header has an opening receiving a said tube and defined by a flange located in said groove and embracing said tube.
 10. The heat exchanger of claim 9 wherein said flange has a right angled inner end comprising an edge positioned against said tube.
 11. The heat exchanger of claim 8 wherein there are provided an adjacent aligned pair of said heat exchangers with the adjacent headers including aligned flanges joined to each other to provide a bank of said heat exchangers. 